AMBITIOUS £150m proposals to transform secondary education in Stockton have been given the green light by the Government.

The provisional approval means Stockton Council can forge ahead with its revised Building Schools for the Future (BSF) plans, with the first wave of finance due in 2010.

Five schools across the borough will be completely rebuilt, while schools at nine other sites will be remodelled or refurbished.

Two new federations of schools are also proposed, where groups of smaller schools work closely together and share resources to offer students wider curriculum options.

In addition, All Saints CE School in Ingleby Barwick will be enlarged to 900 places, with Bishopsgarth School in Stockton expanding to 750 places.

Finance for BSF projects will come in two waves.

Councillor Alex Cunningham, Stockton Council’ cabinet member for children and young people, said: “This is an important step forward towards creating inspirational learning facilities across our borough and I’m very pleased the Government has stated its support.

“Our proposals have taken nearly a year to reach this stage and reflect the outcome of extensive public consultation.

“We have also been able to persuade the Government to accept some important changes from the original plans, in particular increasing the number of secondary places in Ingleby Barwick by 50%.”

Other changes were made to the BSF programme after the public consultation.

There was opposition to the original plan to move Stockton’s Ian Ramsey to the same site as Our Lady and St Bede’s and Grangefield Schools. The idea was scrapped after a transport assessment indicated advantages in remaining on its current site.

In Billingham, the council had proposed to replace the campus with an academy. In Thornaby, an option to merge St Patrick’s and Thornaby Community schools into an academy has also been dropped.

The council is arranging information sessions about the proposals next month. Over the summer, it will put the finishing touches to its draft proposals.

Linda Russell-Bond, headteacher of Thornaby Community School, said: “I believe this is an excellent opportunity to improve the quality of provision for the young people of Thornaby and the community as a whole.”